


Premiere

by my_daroga



Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-16
Updated: 2010-05-16
Packaged: 2017-10-09 12:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_daroga/pseuds/my_daroga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill would have seen the new film sometime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Premiere

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Премьера](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5196638) by [Nagini_snake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagini_snake/pseuds/Nagini_snake)



> My first real person fic, inspired by [shatnoy_rpf](http://shatnoy_rpf.livejournal.com) and too much _Mind Meld_. Unabashedly schmoopy, sorry; I just realized this was what I needed to read.

"How was I supposed to know you'd want to come?"

"You could have at least invited me, Leonard. It's only polite. It's about us."

Leonard's voice took on the patient tone that these days was mostly reserved for Bill, because only Bill still _acted_ this way, like they were still the kids they'd never actually been together. "Bill. It's not about us. It's about me. I'm in the movie. I hate to rub it in, but what happened to all that stuff on the internet about being left out? About not being approached."

"I never said anything bad about the movie!"

"I did like when you compared yourself to dinosaur DNA."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah. Maybe that wasn't the best analogy. But Leonard! You haven't asked the question!"

Leonard sighed. "Bill. Would you like to join me at the premiere of the _Star Trek_ movie?"

"I don't know, Leonard," Bill said too quickly, and Leonard could almost _hear_ him pouting. It was unseemly. It was over-acting. God, he even did it on the _phone_. "I might have something going on that night."

//

Bill said Leonard looked too skinny in his tuxedo. Leonard was just glad Bill wasn't wearing his cowboy hat. Though there were plenty of ways the man could embarrass him whatever he was wearing, and he certainly attracted the lion's share of attention wherever they went together.

He was reminded of this shortly after the lights went down, and Bill's running commentary began. Leonard rolled his eyes in the dark and shushed him half-heartedly, because he wasn't even on screen yet. At least he'd been silent through that car crashing part, most likely in some state of disbelief. Leonard was half afraid Bill was either going to protest that that wasn't James Tiberius Kirk, or that he'd been a cute young whippersnapper. He wasn't sure which would have been worse.

But Bill actually made a sort of cooing noise when the child version of Spock showed up, and Leonard glanced at him sharply.

"There's no way that child grew up to be you, Leonard," he said, because obviously jokes about his looks were both still funny and remotely relevant at 78. The punchline, of course, came later. "Oh. But he certainly could have grown up to be _him_."

Leonard wanted to elbow him then, but it wouldn't have been dignified, and anyway the Zach kid was a nice guy even if Leonard privately thought this movie—this "franchise" as he supposed it had to be called—had fallen victim to the general plasticizing of Hollywood. By today's standards, they'd all have been "too old" when they'd first taken on the roles. Bill still hadn't said anything about Pine, which surprised Leonard until he decided that Bill was just saving it up and braced himself.

He started commenting on various stupid things; he liked the green girl, going back to roots, that was good, but didn't anyone realize Kirk wasn't just some playboy, that he respected women and, you know, _really loved_ them, and what was with the comedy relief with the hands, it wasn't dignified...

"You're not even watching!" Leonard finally exclaimed in a gravelly whisper, though he couldn't keep the smile entirely out of his voice. It was subtle, though. _He_ was subtle. "I'm on screen now and you're talking about…" He realized he had no idea what Bill was talking about.

"I was cuter, though, wasn't I? This Pine guy. I mean he's pretty, I get that, but as far as sensitive-yet-rugged masculinity goes—"

"Yes. Bill. You were very pretty. Shut up and watch the movie. Please. At least my parts."

Apparently mollified, there was silence from the space on his left for a good chunk of time.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you finding a younger model to mind-meld with," he said finally, and Leonard had to stifle his laughter. Okay, so not mollified. Not entirely.

"I thought you said this film was about us. Okay, so think of it this way; I came back in time to mind meld with a younger-you, sure. But only to make sure the-other-you didn't miss out on what you-you and I had." Leonard had to remind himself that Bill, after all, had never called any of his books _I Am Not Kirk_.

"Oh. Well, that's kind of sweet," Bill said. "It just seemed weird. You know, with you being so old and all."

They watched in silence a little bit longer, and Leonard started getting the sense that Bill was actually sort of enjoying himself; he was leaning forward in his seat, and when Leonard glanced over he was usually smiling. He wondered if Bill was thinking the same things he was, about how far they'd come and the fun they'd had and how it wasn't the same but wasn't that okay?

They'd had a good run.

"Is he doing me?" Bill said. Leonard wasn't sure what to read into his tone.

Leonard squinted through his glasses. "I believe he is," he said.

"No one ever does me like that," Bill said, and mercifully he didn't launch into an impression of people doing impressions of him, with accompanying illustrations of how it just. Wasn't. So.

The film ended, and there was applause and they were swept up in the general media tumult for a bit during which naturally lots of people fell prey to Bill's probably unconscious ability to make people orbit him as if he'd actually been in the movie before finally they managed to find themselves in the car on the way home, two old men sharing a back seat in companionable silence.

"I don't see why they couldn't at least have had me do the v.o. at the end," Bill said because he generally saw silence as less companionable than Leonard did. "You know, remind everyone of who Kirk would become—"

"Bill." Leonard's voice was quiet, the inflection minimal, but it stopped him. There was silence for a moment.

"You really were very good," Bill said, and Leonard heard the honesty in his voice and saw it in his open smile, the lack of pretense he admired in the man, the way a simple sentence could remind him that all the rest had just been in fun. Sometimes mean, self-involved fun, but still. A game they'd played for as long as Leonard could remember. "I'm glad they asked you. Spock was the right man for the job." There was another pause. "I miss De," Bill said finally.

"I know," said Leonard, and he was really saying "me too."

"I miss us," Bill continued. "What we used to be." Leonard knew that too, and it was one of the things he loved about Bill. That in spite of that he was always trying, always moving, always seeing something new. So was he, but despite his ambitions and his interests he'd never quite felt like he knew what was driving his friend, though he had his suspicions. "Don't you?"

"No," said Leonard, leaning over to place a hand over the one Bill was resting on his own knee. "We're everything I want us to be."


End file.
